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Round 17 McDonald's WAFL Wrap UpMonday, July 18, 2016 - 12:31 PM - by Chris Pike

EAST Perth and Peel Thunder both scored crucial Round 17 WAFL victories on Saturday to now sit in fifth and fourth positions respectively with a game advantage following the wins over West Perth and East Fremantle.

Wet and windy conditions again made it difficult for attractive football to be played in the only two matches of Round 17 but the results were crucial for the Royals and Thunder.

East Perth defeated West Perth 8.7 (55) to 4.18 (42) at Medibank Stadium on the back of a five-goal to nil second quarter while Peel Thunder beat East Fremantle 10.9 (69) to 3.8 (26) at ATOM Stadium with the Sharks not scoring a goal after the seven-minute mark of the second quarter.

Following the round, Subiaco (11-4) remains on top of the ladder ahead of South Fremantle (10-4) and West Perth (10-6). Peel Thunder (8-7) improved to fourth ahead of East Perth (8-7).

East Fremantle (7-8) slipped to sixth position ahead of Perth (6-8), Claremont (4-10) and Swan Districts (2-12).

Click here for the summary of Round 17 of the WAFL 

TEAM OF THE WEEK (club, times named)
BACK: Josh Cuneo (EF, 3), Eric Mackenzie (EP, 3), Josh Bootsma (PT, 1)
HALF-BACK: Luke Meadows (WP, 4), Tyler Keitel (WP, 7), Jayden Schofield (EF, 1)
CENTRE: Luke Partington (EP, 1), Andrew Haydon (PT, 2), Rohan Kerr (WP, 4)
HALF-FORWARD: Malcolm Karpany (EP, 1), Darcy Tucker (PT, 2), Josh Deluca (PT, 1)
FORWARD: Brett Milward (PT, 1), Jonathan Giles (EP, 1), Max Duffy (WP, 2)
RUCK: James Bristow (EF, 1), Shane Nelson (WP, 9), Matt De Boer (PT, 4)
INTERCHANGE: Rory O'Brien (PT, 4), Nathan Blee (EP, 3), Aidan Lynch (WP, 2), Jesse Crichton (EF, 3) 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK – ANDREW HAYDON
Peel Thunder has had a good blend of experienced WAFL players like Brendon Jones and Rory O'Brien, and Fremantle-listed players like Matt De Boer, Clancee Pearce, Brady Grey leading the way in the midfield over the past two seasons, but what they have been crying out for is a home grown talent to emerge.

That is exactly what South Mandurah product Andrew Haydon has done over the past three weeks and he continued his strong form on Saturday with another 21 possessions and five tackles in the terrible conditions at ATOM Stadium.

He was part of a Thunder on-ball unit alongside De Boer, Josh Deluca, O'Brien and Pearce that helped Peel get on top and go on to record the crucial 43-point victory.

Haydon has only played nine matches in his league career after making his debut in Round 4 this year but the 22-year-old is the exact type of local player the Thunder need to make sure they have a strong group of WAFL players to mix in with those from the Dockers.

THE SHINING LIGHTS
East Perth made West Perth pay in the third quarter with five goals to nil before the rain pelted down denying the Falcons any chance of a final term comeback despite them kicking two goals to cut the final margin to 13 points.

Jonathan Giles ended up having a strong game for East Perth kicking three goals to go with 14 possessions, six marks and 30 hit outs with Paul Johnson helping give the Royals the edge in the ruck with 15 disposals and 28 hit outs as well.

Simon Tunbridge also booted two goals for the Royals while Eric Mackenzie was solid again down back not only holding Michael Lourey goalless, but having 20 possessions and six marks himself.

East Perth also got good run and drive off half-back with Nathan Blee finishing with 22 possessions, Callum Hart 20, Jackson Nelson 17 and Mitch Fraser 15.

The Royals might have finished with 49 possessions less than the Falcons but they had some strong performers through the middle as well led by ex-baseballer Corey Adamson who finished with 33 possessions, six marks and a goal.

Luke Partington returned from a stint in the reserves to gather 20 disposals for East Perth, Malcolm Karpany 19 and Tom Lamb 18.

Max Duffy was West Perth's only multiple goal scorer on the day kicking two of the Falcons' four goals in what was his first chance to play in a derby against East Perth after missing the first two of 2016 through injury. He also had 16 possessions and six marks.

Joel Leeson and Mark Hamilton were West Perth's other goal scorers.

West Perth had plenty of players who racked up a lot of the ball with Shane Nelson again leading the way with 38 possessions while Luke Meadows had 33 disposals (10 marks, nine inside 50s), Rohan Kerr 32, Aaron Black 31 and Tyler Keitel 30 (seven marks, five tackles, eight inside-50 entries).

Aidan Lynch returned to the team and also gathered 25 disposals while laying 11 tackles with Jay van Berlo finishing with 20 possessions, Blake Wilhelm 17 and Joe Morrow 16.

It was a dominant showing by Peel and it started in the midfield with Matt De Boer leading the way with 29 possessions and 12 tackles.

Andrew Haydon also continued his career-best form with 21 disposals and five tackles with Josh Deluca also keeping up his impressive form with another 23 touches and a goal.

Rory O'Brien then backed up those starting on-ballers with 32 possessions, six inside-50 entries and four tackles and Peel had plenty more important players winning plenty of the ball.

Darcy Tucker returned from time with Fremantle in the AFL for 27 possessions and six tackles while Clancee Pearce gathered 21 disposals and laid six tackles and Ethan Hughes worked hard for 15 touches and five marks.

Down back, Alex Silvagni returned and blanketed East Fremantle forward Matthew Watson and Josh Bootsma was terrific helping nullify Brett Peake and using his powerful right boot with 11 kicks and five marks.

Second-gamer Brett Milward was dangerous in the forward-line for the Thunder kicking three goals after being Peel's lone goal scorer last week against West Perth. Shane Yarran and Gerald Ugle also kicked two majors apiece.

All of East Fremantle's goals were scored by seven minutes into the second quarter by Jesse Adamini, Jamie McNamara and Jacob Green.

McNamara worked hard all day for 23 possessions and seven inside-50 entries while Jayden Schofield continued his good form off half-back with another 24 disposals and seven marks.

Jesse Crichton worked tirelessly also for 22 possessions and 17 tackles with George Hampson picking up 22 touches, Dion Anthony 18, Adamini 18, Ryan Lester-Smith 18 and Miles Franklin 17.

Josh Cuneo made the most of his return to the league side with not only 20 possessions but doing well limiting the influence of Blair Bell for Peel and holding him scoreless.

RESERVES STANDOUTS
West Perth's reserves came from behind with five goals to one in the final quarter to defeat East Perth 15.11 (101) to 12.7 (79) at Medibank Stadium but it's a game where the result become decidedly secondary.

Unfortunately, East Perth's Beau Chatley suffered a neck injury during the game and was immediately taken to hospital where he has since undergone spinal surgery. Everyone in the WA football community sends Beau and his family the very best wishes.

As for the game itself, Liam Baker, Keegan Knott and Seva Mozhaev all kicked three goals apiece for West Perth with Matt Johnson kicking two.

Alexander Coe racked up 30 possessions for the Falcons, Scott Nelson 27, Corey Chalmers 21, Knott 20, Baker 18 and Josh Rotham 17. Chalmers also got the late call up to play in the league side as well.

Will Maginness was outstanding for East Perith with 32 possessions and two goals with Agid Gardoud and Nathan Eaton booting two each as well.

Will Young also had 27 disposals for the Royals, Jordan Snadden 26 and Steven Payne 19 in his return.

East Fremantle's reserves defeated Peel Thunder 15.17 (107) to 11.5 (71) at ATOM Stadium on Saturday.

Carl Green kicked four goals for East Fremantle with Andrew Stokes, Adrian Ricciardello and Jeff Carter all booting two each.

Tom Hooker finished with 29 possessions for the Sharks, Jake Schleicher 17, Conor Regan 24, Andrew Stephen 21, Sean Henson 18, Matthew Bannister 18 and Carter 18.

Jakob Janzekovic, Nathan Fahey and Karl Collard each kicked two goals for the Thunder with Corey Morris amassing 33 possessions, Keegan Power 28, Haydn Matthews 21 and Ashley Eades 17.

Former South Fremantle small forward Traye Bennell impressed in his second game of the season for Peel with 22 disposals and a goal.

REDiMED COLTS RISING STARS
The colts match began proceedings at Medibank Stadium on Saturday with East Perth starting strongly with four goals to one in the first quarter, and holding on to beat West Perth 11.13 (79) to 10.4 (64).

The Falcons finished strongly kicking seven goals to five after half-time but just fell 15 points short in the finish.

Matthew Young booted four goals for East Perth from 19 possessions and eight tackles.

Stan Wright also finished with 22 disposals for the Royals, Mitch Dobson 19, Jaxon Cahill 17, Harry Blanch 17, Kobe Chrisp 16 and Tom Vellios 16.

Kurt Monaghan kicked three goals for West Perth while Alec Johnson kicked two as did Lachlan Johns from just five kicks and four marks.

Tyrese Miller was impressive for the Falcons with 22 possessions while Joel Horgan gathered 21 disposals, Brayden Thompson 18, Josh Hunter 18 and Slade Hawkins 24 hit outs.

East Fremantle's colts didn’t score in the final quarter against Peel Thunder at ATOM Stadium but still managed to score the 10.3 (63) to 7.11 (53) victory.

Luke Strnadica and Dwayne Nevill kicked three goals apiece for East Fremantle with Corey Holmes gathering 23 possessions, Leon Pearton 20, Kyle D'Antone 18 and Ben Harding 18.

Daniel Sudden and Zavier Williams kicked two goals each for Peel with Michael Humble racking up 25 possessions, Brandon Penny 18 and Fletcher Klasztorny 14 to go with 18 hit outs